OU baseball wins dramatic 13-11 thriller, forces rubber game
All OU games only count once in the win or loss column. That we know. But Friday night’s dramatic 13-11 win over Vanderbilt felt bigger than just a lone victory.
In a game that Oklahoma led 5-0 after the top of the first, only to trail 9-5 after two. Friday night’s come-from-behind victory that featured a pair of grand slams from Camden Johnson and Deiten Lachance, Oklahoma rallied to even the series in Nashville.
Trent Collier picked up the win after throwing four innings, allowing just two hits and six strikeouts. A heroic effort in a way after inheriting a downright, no good, stinky mess in the second inning.
SOONERS STRIKE FIRST, PITCHING FALTERS
OU starter Cameron Johnson had been handed a five-run lead on a silver platter. After ‘getting right’ in his last two starts against Texas and Alabama, it felt as if Oklahoma had delivered something of a knockout punch even if it was only the first frame.
As quickly as the Sooners five run lead was put together, it unraveled. Johnson lasted just 25 pitches on Friday night, walking four and recording just an out, throwing just eight strikes. Xander Mercurius didn’t fare much better. After walking in a run, he forced in two more runs hitting back to back batters. Rustin Rigdon added a two-run single. Logan Johnstone produced a run-scoring base hit.
A 5-0 lead had evaporated into a three run deficit, 8-5.
Lost in the OU offensive production will be the game’s winning pitcher. Trent Collier arrived on the scene and settled things down, working four innings of relief and striking out six. A much needed performance on the mound when it appeared Oklahoma’s season was aboard a sinking ship.
Nick Wesloski worked an inning of relief. Jason Bodin worked the seventh and eighth before giving way to Jackson Cleveland in the ninth.
BIG SWINGS OFFENSIVELY
On a night that featured the highest of highs and perhaps the lowest of lows. There’s a tragic story in between for Sooners third baseman Camden Johnson. His three-run shot in the first inning extended the Sooners lead to 4-0.
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In the fourth, it was Johnson who sent a towering shot into the Music City sky, tying the game at 9 with a grand slam. He finished the Sooners victory with three hits and seven RBIs.
A special performance on a night in which he was playing with a heavy heart following the tragic loss of his 24-year old cousin who passed away following a traffic accident earlier Friday morning.
Deiten Lachance gave Oklahoma the lead with a sixth inning grand slam to right. His second collegiate home run in as many days in Nashville. A bat that Oklahoma will need to stay hot the rest of the way in conference play.
The Sooners collected 13 runs on 12 hits including three more doubles to the season total. They also walked six times.
NEXT UP
No. 16 Oklahoma (23-11, 6-7) takes on Vanderbilt in a rubber game on Saturday. First pitch set for 1 p.m.
